Elijah: The Man, Part 1

Driving home: We put him in a category so above us and beyond us that we do not practically use that life as an example, as a pattern, after which we always, if so, should seek to be molded.

Martin lists Elijah's miracles, prophetic office, and unusual home-going in a chariot of fire as examples of extraordinary aspects that can lead people to put him in a category 'above us and beyond us,' preventing practical application of his life.

In our study yesterday morning, I sought to lay before you the answer to such practical concerns as why study the life and ministry of the prophet Elijah, what was the situation at the time in which Elijah lived and ministered, and finally what does all of this say to us, living and seeking to honor God, at this present point in history. Today, our attention will be focused on the theme, Elijah, the man. Tomorrow, God willing, Elijah, his mission, and then the last two mornings, Elijah, his discouragement and restoration. When we think of this man, Elijah, we generally think of the things pecu...

1:47 - 3:16 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Elijah was a man of like passions with us. Now, he was not a man of like calling with us. None of us is or ever shall be a prophet to whom the word of the Lord comes by direct revelation.

The apostles' response in Acts 14:15, 'We are men of like passions,' is used to illustrate that even great men of God share common human weaknesses, reinforcing James's point about Elijah.

They want to worship them. They said, no, no, no, no, don't do this. We are men of like passions. We are not half gods sent down from heaven or elevated above our fellow men.

6:41 - 6:51 Read in full sermon

The point: Every one of us ought in a real sense to be able to take upon ourselves the name Elijah. That in a day of Baal worship, when men worship the gods of their own conceiving...every one of us ought to have as our adopted nam…

The analogy of Hebrew names often being a 'synopsis of his character, a finger pointing in the direction of his peculiar function or destiny' is used to explain how Elijah's name, 'Jehovah is God,' encapsulates his mission and character.

Turn please to 1 Kings chapter 17. After painting that terribly dark picture that we considered yesterday morning, the writer of 1 Kings carries on the narrative without a break, and Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the sojourners of Gilead said, unto Ahab. Now the name Elijah is a compound of two Hebrew words for God. And it means Jehovah is God, or my God is Jehovah, or you will find different Hebraists, people who are knowledgeable in the Hebrew, giving various translations. But one thing is clear. You cannot escape this inextricable identity between God, and Jehovah. In the name Elijah, two...

8:19 - 9:29 Read in full sermon

Driving home: A man's character is that which you cannot see when you look upon his body or his hairstyle, or when you smell the presence or absence of his brute. ... It has to do with the inner man or the inner woman. And the formati…

Martin uses the contrast between modern preoccupation with 'externals' (looks, hairstyle, scent) and the true meaning of 'character' (the inner man formed by principles) to highlight the neglected importance of character in contemporary society.

St. Victor by Ephesians 1-30. E-N-B-V-I-L-I-T-H-O-N-G-S-O-B-O-B-M-I-L-E Ihnen her, Franz. God is Jehovah. Well, come and consider with me in the second place that which will be the bulk of our preoccupation this morning, his character. Now, the word character has fallen into great disuse in our day. About the only time we hear it is when there's somebody who's a bit odd and a bit strange, and we say, man, what a character he is. We don't talk about character anymore, do we? Do you know why we don't? We live in a day that is preoccupied with externals, and character has nothing to do with exter...

13:39 - 14:37 Read in full sermon

Driving home: A man's character is that which you cannot see when you look upon his body or his hairstyle, or when you smell the presence or absence of his brute. ... It has to do with the inner man or the inner woman. And the formati…

The idea that 'great men and women are the product of powerful principles which have possessed them and molded them' is presented as a common theme in Christian biography, setting up the discussion of Elijah's formative principle.

biography, you come to the conclusion that great men and women are the product of powerful principles which have possessed them and molded them. In fact, it may be accurate to say the history and the biography of great men and women is the record of great principles that molded men and women who were nothing in themselves.

15:39 - 16:04 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And the phrase, The Lord God liveth, before whom I stand, is the formative principle in the character of this man, Elijah.

The Queen of Sheba's envy of Solomon's servants who 'stand continually before thee' (1 Kings 10:8) is used to illustrate the meaning of 'standing in the presence of' someone, signifying nearness, readiness to serve, and reception of wisdom.

10, a passage that we considered yesterday as we looked at Israel at the height of her glory. And when the queen of Sheba stood before Solomon, seeking to express something of the response of her own heart and mind to that which she had seen, she says in 1 Kings chapter 10 and verse 8, Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants that stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. She said, Oh, what a wonderful thing it must be to be one of your servants. Now, here's a queen speaking.

17:43 - 18:26 Read in full sermon

The point: Until you've been brought to the same place that Elijah was there will never be the formation of Christian character in you until God by the spirit brings you to the place where there are only two people in the universe,…

Matthew 18:10 (angels always behold the Father's face) and Luke 1:19 (Gabriel stands in God's presence) are used to further illustrate the meaning of 'standing in the presence of God,' emphasizing communion, service, and permanence.

They stand continually before thee. The queen says, in essence, I've had the privilege of of coming and for a short time surveying the wonder and the glory of this kingdom for a short time i've been able to stand or sit by the king and be amazed at his wisdom and enter into something of communion and fellowship and social converse with him but i must go back to my kingdom oh how i envy those servants who every morning regardless of what the day may hold they know that they will be there in the presence of the king now hold those elements in mind as we turn to the new testament we read in Matth...

19:51 - 21:14 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Consciously standing before such a God, redeemed sinner, restored creature, servant in the presence of Master, son in the presence of glorious Father, how can I do anything other than run at his slightest bidding? Filled…

The story of Jonah rising to flee from the Lord's presence after receiving a direct command is used to demonstrate that prophetic obedience was a conscious, volitional act, not a passive transport, highlighting Elijah's choice to obey.

When the word of the Lord came to a prophet, it did not transport that prophet in the directions that it dictated. When the word of the Lord came, it did not, as it were, put them in a semi-conscious state and carry them like a sleepwalker into the direction defined in the commandment. Last year we studied Jonah, did we not? And we read in the opening words of the book of the prophecy of Jonah, the word of the Lord came to Jonah.

32:28 - 32:57 Read in full sermon

The point: It is when I lose sight of that grace, the fact that I stand before him, and I allow other issues to cloud the basic structure of my posture and position in the presence of this gracious, redeeming God, that obedience be…

Martin vividly imagines Elijah scanning the heavens for ravens after God's promise, illustrating his implicit confidence and expectation that God would fulfill His word, despite the unusual means.

The record says, so he went and did. And I believe the first morning after he was there, well, and after having a drink of the brook, he started scanning the heavens.

37:13 - 37:25 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second Godward grace is Elijah's implicit confidence in God's Word, even when promises seemed strange or defied natural understanding, such as being fed by ravens or sustained…

Martin humorously imagines Elijah arguing with God about the 'kosher' nature of ravens or God needing a 'birdology' course, to emphasize Elijah's lack of argument and implicit trust in God's unconventional commands.

Ravens to feed thee there. No arguing with God. Now, God, this is not quite kosher, you know. Ravens are unclean animals.

38:06 - 38:15 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second Godward grace is Elijah's implicit confidence in God's Word, even when promises seemed strange or defied natural understanding, such as being fed by ravens or sustained…

Martin imagines Elijah questioning God's choice of Zarephath (Jezebel's home region) and a widow (symbol of destitution) to sustain him, highlighting Elijah's implicit trust despite seemingly illogical circumstances.

The word of the Lord came and said, Arise, go to Zarephath, Gentile city, which belongeth to Zidon. Wait a minute, Zidon? That's where this character Jezebel came from. Why, she's daughter of this man who is the head.

38:45 - 39:02 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Implicit confidence in the word of God is born of the maintenance of this posture, before whom I stand. And when you're holding conscious communion with God and the soul is filled with some present awareness of his might…

Martin explains that for Elijah, God feeding him with ravens was 'no big deal' because God made the raven and can suspend its natural disposition, illustrating Elijah's understanding of God's sovereignty over creation.

As the Lord God liveth before whom I stand. . . communion with Jehovah, who is God of hosts. Notice 17 and verse 1, as the Lord, the God of Israel, liveth before whom I stand, down in verse 15, and Elijah said, as the Lord of hosts liveth before whom I stand, he is the head of all the armies of heaven. He does according to his will among the armies of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest thou? Who made the nature of the raven? Not some blind, impersonal, mechanical force in the process of evolution, with its carnivorous nature, and if ...

40:23 - 41:16 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Implicit confidence in the word of God is born of the maintenance of this posture, before whom I stand. And when you're holding conscious communion with God and the soul is filled with some present awareness of his might…

The quote 'unbelief is essentially deicide. It is a declaration that God is dead with reference to that promise as it suits my present need' is used to underscore the wickedness of unbelief and contrast it with Elijah's faith.

If he declared it to be a raven, it was a raven. If he declared it to be a raven, it was a raven. If he declared it unclean, he can declare it clean for me. There's nothing intrinsically clean or unclean. It's clean or unclean by divine declaration. It's carnivorous or non-carnivorous because of the work of God. And if God wants to feed me with a widow, so what? If God help us to see that the secret of faith is found in this man's posture, before whom I stand, in the language of the book of Hebrews, concerning Moses, it is said he endured as seedless, being him who is invisible. His eyes were ...

41:26 - 42:19 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Elijah's consuming zeal for God's honor is highlighted through his bold actions on Mount Carmel and his own testimony in 1 Kings 19:10, 14. This holy jealousy for God's glory…

The Mount Carmel confrontation is described as 'sheer drama' where Elijah acts like a general, taunting and mocking the false prophets, to illustrate his tremendous boldness and consuming zeal for God's honor.

this posture, before whom I stand. And when you're holding conscious communion with God and the soul is filled with some present awareness of his might and glory and power, then you can see that God's power, unbelief is seen for what it is, a wicked, God dishonoring sin. Someone has rightly said unbelief is essentially deicide. It is a declaration that God is dead with reference to that promise as it suits my present need. Faith is simply saying God lives with reference to that promise. This man is what I'm calling consuming zeal for the honor of God. You read his life and you see unquestioned...

42:19 - 43:34 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Elijah's boldness was coupled with compassion and sensitivity, evident in his gentle response to the distraught widow and his understanding of Obadiah's fear. This grace flowed…

The widow's distraught accusation to Elijah ('To make my sin catch up with me?') is used to illustrate how Elijah's compassion allowed him to overlook her unfair words, understanding her emotional state.

The poor woman is so distraught that her only child has died, that she comes to the prophet and she says some nasty things to him. She said, what's the only reason you came here? To make my sin catch up with me and to put a worm in the gourd of my pleasure? Well, that wasn't fair.

56:14 - 56:31 Read in full sermon

The point: We need to manifest the grace of compassion and sensitivity.

Obadiah's fear of telling Ahab that Elijah was coming, lest the Spirit carry Elijah away, is used to show Elijah's understanding and compassionate response, sealing his promise with an oath.

Her womanly temperament had become unhinged at the loss of her son. And with genuine sensitivity and compassion, he overlooked her unkind words. Sensitivity, compassion, further on with that man, Obadiah. He gets all upset and says, not on your life, Elijah.

57:01 - 57:19 Read in full sermon

The point: We need to manifest the grace of compassion and sensitivity.

The parable in Matthew 18 is alluded to, connecting a lack of compassion and sensitivity in believers to a failure to grasp the wonder of God's redeeming grace and forgiveness in their own lives.

I come back again to the formative principle, the Lord God liveth before whom I stand. And the man who stands in the presence of Jehovah, God of heaven and earth, who could have damned him, who could have righteously consigned him to the pit of everlasting burning, the man who stands before men and lives among men with a heart suffused with the wonder of redeeming grace, cannot be a harsh man. He'll be compassionate and he'll be sensitive to people. Isn't that the whole teaching of the parable in Matthew 18?

58:10 - 58:45 Read in full sermon